Another US state wants to join antitrust case against Google

Texas, which is part of the federal lawsuit, is also looking to file its own complaint related to Google’s advertising business,

Additional states led by Colorado, Iowa, Nebraska and others have said they are wrapping up their own probe into the company and will seek to join the federal case if they decide to file suit. (REUTERS)

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra wants to join the antitrust lawsuit against Alphabet Inc.'s Google filed by the Justice Department and a group of states.

Becerra's office filed court papers Friday seeking a judge's approval to be added to the case as a plaintiff. California would be the first state-led by a Democratic attorney general to join the case.

“We're moving to join a lawsuit against @Google for violating federal antitrust laws,” Becerra said on Twitter. “By using exclusionary business agreements to dominate the market, Google has stifled competition and rigged the advertising market.”

The Justice Department and 11 Republican attorneys general sued Mountain View, California-based Google in October, alleging the company violated antitrust laws by using exclusive distribution agreements with phone manufacturers and wireless carriers to lock out competition from rival search engines.

Becerra, who did not join the original 48 states that announced their investigation of the company in 2019 and endured criticism that he was going soft on a company in his state, has been tapped by President-elect Joe Biden to run the Department of Health and Human Services.

Additional states led by Colorado, Iowa, Nebraska and others have said they are wrapping up their own probe into the company and will seek to join the federal case if they decide to file suit.

Texas, which is part of the federal lawsuit, is also looking to file its own complaint related to Google's advertising business, Bloomberg has reported.